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Inside Hokie Sports
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oughly 10 weeks ago on a perfect fall Saturday afternoon, Greg Stroman parked himself at the 20-yard line at Virginia Tech’s
Lane Stadium and fielded a high, lazy punt from North Carolina punter Tom Sheldon. He made four or five moves to avoid
would-be tacklers and then sprinted down the sideline un-impeded to the end zone.
On that journey, the normally stoic Justin Fuente tried to keep up. But the former college quarterback and now the 41-year-old
head coach of the Hokies—long past his days of running sub-5.0 40’s—ultimately slowed down and reveled in the glory of what
turned out to be a 91-yard punt return.
“He’s a lot faster than I am, I know that,” Fuente said shortly thereafter, smiling. “It was just fun—to see him score from
out of there, from my view … Greg [Stroman] is a pretty special player, and he’s an easy one to root for to do well. I still
want all of our guys to do well, but he’s kind of a special kid.”
Without question, Greg Stroman was special this past season for the Hokies. That’s not hyperbole. One only needs to
look at his big plays to understand what he meant to the team.
There was the 91-yard punt return against the Tar Heels. The 61-yard punt return against Delaware on a day
when the Hokies struggled offensively. The interception return for a touchdown against Georgia Tech that gave the
Hokies a chance to win (they ultimately lost the game). The interception that led to the game-winning score against
Pittsburgh. The deflected pass in the end zone against the Panthers to preserve that win.
Stroman led the team in interceptions and pass breakups, and he keyed the Hokies’ success on special teams.
Because of that, he earned first-team All-ACC honors.
But his teammates will tell you that Stroman deserves more than all-league recognition. They voted him as the
2017 MVP of the team.
“I feel like, if we didn’t have Greg Stroman, we wouldn’t have won as many games as we did,” defensive tackle
Tim Settle said. “Greg’s just a different player. Special. One-of-a-kind-type guy to help us out on defense and
score at any time. We can always count on him. You never know when he’s going to make a big play.”
“Greg has helped us a lot, especially with clutch moments, interceptions and stuff like that,” mike linebacker
Andrew Motuapuaka said. “He’s definitely a competitor. We wouldn’t be the defense we are today without
him.”
Stroman closed his Tech career in the Camping World Bowl. It was a largely successful one, though large
and Stroman rarely go in the same sentence when using the literal definition of the word. Only four scholarship
players weighed less than Stroman’s listed 181 pounds this season—Bryce Watts, Hezekiah Grimsley, Khalil
Ladler and C.J. Carroll—and the first three in that group are freshmen.
But the spindly Stroman never let size get in the way of success. He dominated the recreation league scene
in Northern Virginia and then went on to more success at Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas as a
quarterback.
Once, he played despite being cursed with the flu, which ultimately forced a hospital visit just two days
before a game against Freedom High. Yet that Friday night, he accounted for more than 500 yards of
offense and five touchdowns.
“I had gone to the hospital that week, and that’s when I weighed in,” Stroman said. “I think I was 140,
maybe 139. I was with my mom, but yeah, I played that game. We won that game.”
Most college coaches loved his game at the time, but some expressed concern of Stroman’s slight build.
They also debated his position—quarterback or cornerback. Many felt he could only play cornerback
at the collegiate level, but they rarely saw his skills on defense because he only played on defense once
Stonewall Jackson made the playoffs.
I
feel like, if we didn’t have Greg Stroman, we
wouldn’t have won as many games as we did.
Greg’s just a different player. Special. One-of-
a-kind-type guy to help us out on defense
and score at any time. We can always count
on him. You never know when he’s going
to make a big play.”
Tim Settle
on teammate Greg Stroman
“